A Magic Called Love
by SometimesAllyWrites
Summary: Going to a school where magic is the main subject is one thing. Learning how to love another person is NOT the same. Hogwarts AU. Mary/Bert in the future. Featuring some characters from the HP series.
1. Platform 9 34

Hogwarts Au! Yay! Let me know what you think, yes?

* * *

Platform 9 ¾ was busy; it usually was on the first of September. For Aiden and Adelaide Poppins, September first was the day that they sent their only daughter off to study at the finest wizarding school: Hogwarts. Surprisingly enough, neither parent was teary or even looked remotely worried about their daughter. While most mothers were hugging their eleven year-olds and weeping that their baby absolutely must be careful, Adelaide stood by her husband's side and warned her daughter to stay out of trouble. Aiden Poppins then loaded his daughter's trunks onto the train and said to her, "I hope to hear news of your sorting soon, Mary. Your mother and I will expect a letter tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir," Mary said with a nod. She was more nervous about being sorted than she had ever been about anything. She knew that her parents wanted her to be sorted into Ravenclaw house, just as every witch and wizard had been for as far back as her parents could remember. It was a lot of pressure to put on an eleven year-old. But Mary was determined that she would not let her parents down. She watched her parents leave the platform and couldn't help but feel a bit sad that they weren't staying to see her off. Mary knew her parents weren't all that fond of sappy farewells and that they more often than not would say what they needed and leave her to her devices. She didn't mind all that much, but this was her first time going away. Her first time on the train and her first time going to school. She wished they would have stayed.

So Mary Poppins took a deep breath and turned towards the train. "This is it," she whispered to no one, "I'm going to Hogwarts," and boarded the train.

She picked her way through students of all ages and moved from car to car. Finding a place to sit was proving a bit more difficult than she had expected. Most of the seats were taken or saved for a friend of someone already sitting there. It wasn't long before Mary found herself in one of the last cars. She whispered a silent prayer that this last compartment was available and pulled the door open. It wasn't empty, which was a bit discouraging, but there was only one other girl sitting there. "E-excuse me," Mary said quietly, "Is there a seat I could take? I mean- are you expecting anyone?"

The girl looked away from the window, "Huh? Oh yeah, you can sit here. I don't think anyone else will be coming this way, anyway."

"Oh thank you," Mary sighed, "I thought I was never going to find a place to sit! The train's really crowded."

"You must be a first year," the girl laughed. Mary looked a bit worried at the comment, though. "No, no," the strange girl reassured, running a finger through her blonde hair, "Being a first year isn't bad. But you guys are a bit easy to spot. C'mon! Sit down, I won't bite you. Name's Winona Zappa. I'm a second year."

"It's nice to meet you, Winona. I'm Mary. Mary Poppins. And you were right, I'm a first year."

"You're already in your robes," Winona pointed out.

Mary's hand went to touch the black cloak that was draped neatly over her shoulders, "My parents didn't want me changing on the train. I guess it makes sense. They've always said that one should be dressed properly at all times."

"Ohhhh. Okay, you're parents are those kinds of parents. Lemme guess. Pureblood. And they left as soon as your trunks were on the train?"

"How did you know?"

"Mine did the same thing my first year. And again this year. Don't worry, it's more common than you might think."

Mary smiled sadly, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It happens. Anyways, we're on the way to Hogwarts. You should be beside yourself with happiness. You're going to love it there."

Mary hoped that Winona was right, she probably was. But in the meantime, Mary was rather glad to have found a friend.

* * *

Herbert Alfred (or Bert. He absolutely hated the name Herbert.) was saying goodbye to his mom and dad. Mark Alfred was much more composed than his wife, Sara, but that was to be expected. Mark had already been to Hogwarts once and while he was still worried about his son finding friends and getting good marks, he knew that Bert was going to be okay. Sara, however, was a muggle and was (to put it kindly) freaking out a little. She knew next to nothing about the school and even though magic had become the norm in her home, she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her baby was going off to learn how to cast spells and make potions. Some nights, Sara wondered if there was a point in her childhood where she had fallen asleep and all this was some crazy dream. But it was real, and she wouldn't change anything that had happened.

"Muuuuuuum," Bert groaned, "You can let me go now!"

"You have to promise me that you're going to write. And you have to be good- and make sure to keep up with your studies," the mother rambled, "Oh and be nice to people because I would hate to hear that you aren't making friends. And no fighting- that should be obvious. And-"

"Sara," Mark chuckled, "By the time you finish giving him your list, the boy will have missed the train." He pulled his wife close, wrapping an arm around her waist, "She means well, Bert. And she's right. Just remember to be good and to check in every once in a while. We're proud of you."

That was definitely the breaking point, because Sara started to cry and pulled her son into a bone-crushing hug…..again. Bert hugged her back and tried to express that he would be okay and that he loved her. "Mum I really need to get on the train now."

She wiped her eyes and nodded, letting her son go. Mark helped Bert load his trunks and then took a few steps back, "Have fun, Bert." Bert nodded and climbed aboard. Before he was completely on the train, he caught a glimpse of a girl. She was a bit of a ways away, but he noticed her all the same. Her chesnut-brown hair curled gently past her shoulders and she was already wearing her school robes. He felt a strange desire to find her and introduce himself, but as soon as he was on the train and looking for her, she practically disappeared. Shaking her off as a mystery to be solved later, Bert busied himself finding a compartment to sit in. He found a fairly uncrowded one and pulled the door open. "S'there room for one more?"

One of the boys piped up, "Yeah sure! You a first year too?" Bert nodded and the boy continued, "I'm Collin. That's Dan, over there is Arthur, and that is Katia. She's Dan's older sister and her parents told her she had to sit with Dan. She's a third year," Collin chattered while pointing around the room.

"Hi," Bert said easily, "Yeah, I'm a first year. Bert Alfred."

The other boys and Katia all said hello and began to talk before the train let out a piercing whistle and began to move forward slowly. Bert and his newfound friends all rushed to the window. Bert spied his parents standing in the crowd, his mother leaning her head on his father's shoulder and waving sadly. Mark held her close and waved with a confident smile, he knew his son would have a good time. But that didn't stop him from waving until the train was no longer in view.

"He'll be alright," Sara whispered.

"He's going to be just fine, love. You'll see."


	2. The Sorting Hat

Winona was sprawled out on her seat and her her head propped up on her coat that she had bundled up as a makeshift pillow. Mary sat close to the window with both feet still on the floor. The only noise in the compartment was that of the train rushing over tracks and the occasional sound of a page turning. But Mary soon found that the book wasn't enough to occupy her thoughts and that gazing out the window was much more interesting.

"What's it like? Hogwarts, I mean," she asked, finally breaking the silence. Of course she had grown up with magic, and she knew what the school was, but her parents had never explained much. They had told her that she would be learning to control her magic and that the family had a proud history of being sorted into Ravenclaw house. Aiden and Adelaide Poppins had never once actually told Mary that she was expected to be sorted as such. Then again, they never needed to. It had always been an unspoken wish – almost a demand- that Mary be sorted to Ravenclaw.

Her parents' lack of explanation of the school meant a whole number of things. It could be terrible or it could be wonderful. There could be dangerous trolls wandering the grounds and students dying once every two months. The teachers could be dreadful and the school could be in ruins. Mary tried to take a deep breath, she was worrying too much. She had read through her textbooks one time each and had double-checked her letter for any last things that her parents might have forgotten to buy. She was ready, but she was still worried.

"It's great," Winona exclaimed and swung herself around so she could look at Mary, "Well, sometimes the classes can be a bit of a bore, but that's expected. Really, it's all interesting and not too bad if you keep up with assignments." Mary didn't look very convinced, which caused Winona to sigh, "Come on! You haven't even seen the castle yet- don't tell me you're already worrying about schoolwork! Mary, you've got to relax! We've got hours left of the train ride. Try to enjoy it." Mary nodded and returned her gaze to the passing landscape while Winona returned to her book.

"Ravenclaw," Winona said quietly after half an hour of trying to read.

"Sorry? What do you mean by that," Mary asked, looking up from her book. She had been trying to focus on her book, but instead was worrying about the sorting.

Winona nodded twice, "You could be a Ravenclaw. Actually, it would make sense, I think," and without any further explanation, she pulled a book from her own bag and started reading. Mary smiled at the statement and returned to her own book. It was good to know that someone thought she would belong in Ravenclaw, comforting even.

* * *

Bert, Collin, Dan, and Arthur all sat in their compartment. Katia had long since left the boys in search of her own friends. It didn't matter that she had left, the boys hardly noticed her slipping out. They were too busy swapping Chocolate Frog cards and shoving sugared snacks into their mouths to notice. Bert was having a fantastic time and it had been surprisingly easy to befriend the boys.

"Bert! Do ya want this Howl Winchester," Dan shouted over Collin and Arthur's heated debate about which dragon could demolish the other in a fight, "I've already got three."

"Sure! Thanks!" Bert reached over and took the card from his friend. He studied it carefully, then turned it over to read the description. When he turned it over again, the wizard in the picture was gone. "Hey where'd Winchester go?"

Collin pulled himself from the debate and looked at Bert incredulously, "Well you can't expect him to hang around, can you? Come on, Bert! Were you raised by muggles or something?"

Bert glared at Collin, "No. My dad's a wizard, but my mum's a muggle. Since we live around other muggles, my dad tries to keep all the wizarding stuff hushed up. He doesn't want to bring any attention. Why, do you have a problem with muggles?" Collin and Bert locked eyes and glared at one another. Dan and Arthur didn't say anything while the other two held a type of staring contest.

Finally, Collin huffed, "Nope," and pulled out a notebook. He scrawled in it furiously and muttered, "Muggle lover." Lucky for his face, neither Bert or any of the other boys heard him say that or he would have gotten a nice shiner.

At this point, the other three boys had started ignoring Collin and Dan and Arthur started exchanging ideas about what Hogwarts was going to be like. "I'm gonna go try and find the candy trolley," Bert said after a minute or two. His friends waved him away without too much enthusiasm. He left their compartment quickly, but stopped in the hall. He didn't actually want to find the trolley, he just wanted out of the space for a minute. So he took a few steps so that the boys couldn't see him from the window and then crossed his arms. He was mad at Collin, but it felt like it was almost for no reason. He probably hadn't meant anything by it, right? It was probably just supposed to be some kind of joke because Bert didn't expect the picture to leave. He shook his head, still mad.

"Bert, hey," it was Arthur. Bert tried to ignore him and started walking away. "Hey! Bert! Hey wait up!" Arthur rushed to catch up, "Look, mate, Collin was way out of line back there. He just doesn't know when something's gonna make someone angry." Bert huffed in agreement. "You watch, one of these days, Collin's going to get socked in the face because he said the wrong thing to the wrong person." That managed to get a laugh out of Bert. "What I mean is, Collin's a cool kid and once you get over his rude bit, he's a good friend."

"Yeah, but if he makes one more go at muggles or my mum-,"

"No one'll hold you back."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Just, get back into the compartment. We've only got a few more hours left of the trip and I think Dan was going to challenge us all to a game of Exploding Snap."

* * *

Hours later, all the students filed out of the train and onto another platform. Many rushed over to what appeared to be carriages, but some others lingered while they waited for friends or to be told what to do. Mary walked with Winona towards the carriages before her friend stopped her. "Mary," she laughed, "You don't take a carriage your first year. Nuh-uh, you take the boats!"

"The…boats?"

"Don't worry! It's totally fine and safe! Just don't fall into the water," Winona teased, "or the giant squid will drag you under and feed you to the merfolk." Mary's must have looked terrified because Winona laughed again, "I'm just teasing, Mary! Go! I'll save you a seat at Ravenclaw's table." And with that, Winona rushed off to find an empty carriage, leaving Mary to find her own way.

"You don't even know that I'll be sorted to Ravenclaw," Mary shouted at her friend's retreating form. "Right. The boats, don't fall in. I can do this."

Meanwhile, Bert and his friends all jumped from the train and landed on the platform. They all laughed and joked about the last game of Exploding Snap where Collin had pulled a fake snap that had momentarily left him with a pig nose. A friend of Dan's, Damien, had joined them in their laughing at Collin's expense and even told a few good jokes that left the boys laughing even harder. Their laughter died down and once they looked around at the older students rushing to the carriages, Arthur turned to Dan and asked, "So…what now?"

"Uh, I think Katia said something about boats," Dan said, "And maybe something about a squid in the lake…."

"FIRST YEARS, THIS WAY," a voice shouted. A man who looked like a teacher walked through the crowds, shining a lantern over the faces of students still on the platform. "FIRST YEARS, FOLLOW ME," he shouted again.

All the first years followed him until he stopped. They were now standing on a pier. The black lake moved silently in front of them, the lights from the now-visible castle dancing on the surface. "Alright listen up," the man growled, "Four to a boat. No more, no less. No horseplay or you'll fall in and I don't wanna have to fish you out. Plus it makes a mess when you drip all over the castle and Filch'll be mad if he has to go'n clean up after you. Am I clear?" Dozens of faces nodded worriedly. "Good. Well go on, then. Pick a boat."

First years rushed to get a boat with their friends. Mary found one where two girls already sat together. "You don't mind if I sit here, do you," she asked politely. The girls shook their heads and told her to go ahead and sit down. Bert and his group of friends all jumped into one boat, quietly breaking the four-per-boat rule and hoping that they wouldn't get caught. They did and Bert was plucked from the boat and told to hurry up and find another place to sit. That was when he saw her, the girl from Platform 9 ¾ . She was sitting by herself while two other girls chattered happily in front of her. Bert swallowed and walked over to her boat.

"Is this seat taken?"

Mary had been watching the lights on the water when she heard a boy's voice, "Hm?" She looked up shyly, "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if that seat was taken." He pointed at the empty seat next to her and smiled when she shook her head. "Well… Can I sit there, then?" She nodded and he quickly climbed into the small boat. Not a moment too soon, either because as soon as he was in the boat, it lurched forward. The boats were beginning the short journey towards the castle. She smiled as he scrambled to not lose his balance. He could have sworn he had even heard a small laugh, but there was no way to be certain of that.

Mary shot a few sideways glances at the boy next to her. Should she say something to him? Was he going to say something to her? She shook her head slightly and continued watching the water. He smiled and watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was quiet, he observed and eventually, he was mesmerized by the lights on the water and stopped glancing over at her.

The boats glided easily. So easily, in fact, that it must have been by magic. And all too soon, the boat ride was over. The man who had lead them to the boats, ushered them out and into the castle. He herded them to the base of a large staircase where he told them to wait and then disappeared through gigantic double doors. Once he was gone, all the children began to chatter nervously. What was going to happen to them? Where were they supposed to go?

They fell silent when the door creaked open. Instead of the gruff boat-man, a slender woman in emerald green robes stepped out. "Follow me," she said sternly, "They're ready for you." _They're ready for you._ All the students rushed to follow her, both eager to find out what would happen, and scared of what they would find. Behind the large doors, an even larger hall was waiting for the first years. The crowd fell silent as the stern woman strode down the center aisle. She climbed four steps and stopped next to stool. On the stool, was an old hat. It was suddenly so quiet, a pin dropping would have sounded like a crack of lightening.

Then the hat gave a small shudder. Then the creases formed empty eye sockets and a mouth. And then it spoke.

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're safe in hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

Applause broke out once the hat had once again fallen silent. Once the applause died down, the woman in green stepped towards the stool and picked up the hat. "When I call your name," she explained, "step up here and sit on the stool. I shall place the hat on your head and you will wait for it to sort you. Then you will sit with your house and wait for the rest of your classmates to be sorted." She unrolled a long piece of parchment and began reading names.

Damien was the first of the people Bert knew to be sorted. The hat cried out joyously, "GRYFFINDOR!" A table to the left cheered loudly and Damien sauntered to sit with the cheering students. He looked pleased.

"Alfred, Herbert." Bert took a deep breath and walked slowly towards the stool and the hat. The woman waited for him to sit and then placed the threadbare accessory on his head.

"_Hmmm. Yes, I see,"_ the hat mused, "_You are kind and loyal. But you're brave too. Oh, you'll go far in this school. There's ambition, yes. You want to belong. But you're so kind."_ Bert squeezed his eyes shut and hoped for the best. "HUFFLEPUFF!" Bert let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. A table of students applauded and cheered while he clambered off the stool and towards his table. He caught the eyes of the girl from the boat. She smiled kindly as he took his seat.

Mary searched through the crowd, looking for a familiar face. At a table on the left, she found who she was looking for. Winona waved when she noticed Mary and mouthed, "Good Luck." Mary nodded her thanks and turned back to the student currently being sorted.

Dan, Arthur, and Collin were all sorted into Gryffindor with Damien. Bert felt a bit left out when he saw them all sitting together. But they all shot him thumbs up. Collin looked a bit smug and mouthed, "Hufflepuff?" Arthur noticed, though and elbowed Collin in the stomach.

"Poppins, Mary." Mary exhaled calmly and strode towards the stool. She kept her back straight as she sat; all eyes were on her now.

"RAVENCLAW," the hat shouted without hesitation. Relief washed over her as she bounced off the stool and towards Ravenclaw's table. Winona had kept her promise and had saved Mary a seat. Mary slid into her place with ease. Her parents, she knew, would be proud.


	3. First Night

**Here y'all go! Chapter 3! Enjoy and maybe leave a review once you've read it? It would mean a ton!**

* * *

There are no words that can accurately describe the wonder that is known as the Sorting Feast. Mary didn't think she had seen so much food in one place at a time in her whole life. After the Headmaster of the school, Professor Albus Dumbledore, had given a very brief speech, food of almost every sort imaginable appeared on the tables. Students all around Mary erupted into conversations about the summer and about what classes they hoped to take. Some students a few seats away from Mary, probably sixth years, were comparing the marks they had gotten on final exams and arguing over who would be able to take the most NEWT level courses.

Gingerly, Mary reached out and took a pitcher of Pumpkin Juice. She filled her glass almost to the top before putting the pitcher back. Winona had already piled her plate high with almost every available food item.

"Ish goo 'oo try errythin," Mary's friend tried to explain through a mouthful of chicken.

"What was that?"

Winona swallowed, "Sorry. It's good to try a bit of everything. You know, because there's so much!"

Mary smiled and took a few cauldron cakes and some other small food items. "I think I'll eat lightly tonight, Winona. I'd hate to spend my first night at Hogwarts with a stomach ache."

"Suit yourself."

"Oi! Nona," a boy called out, moving closer as he did, "Nona! Nooooona! Hey, Nona!"

Winona groaned, "That's Eddie. I guess you're gonna meet him soon enough."

"Joy…"

Eddie made his was over to where Winona and Mary were sitting, "Hey Nona! How you doing?"

Winona scowled, "I thought I told you last year that I hated that nickname."

"I know," he announced happily, forcing himself into the nonexistent space between the two girls and sitting down. "That's why I use it still."

"Fantastic."

"Aaaaand who is this little first year?" Eddie turned to Mary and gave her a big grin.

"I'm Mary Poppins."

"Mary Poppins?" Mary nodded. "Well it's a pleasure to meet ya, kid! I'm Eddie Roften, third year and jokester extraordinaire."

"And a right pain in the ass," Winona added from behind her glass of pumpkin juice.

Eddie made a half-pained expression and brought his hand to his heart, "My pride, Nona. You have wounded me." He smiled and gave Mary a small wink. "I guess I'll see you ladies around, then. Bye, Miss Poppins." Almost as quickly as he had appeared, Eddie disappeared, wandering down the table to bother the next unsuspecting group of students.

"Well he was… interesting," Mary said before taking a small sip of pumpkin juice.

"Interesting only begins to cover it. Just you wait, in a month or so he'll be letting all the owls loose and swapping chocolate frogs for real ones."

Slowly the conversations began to die down and Headmaster Dumbledore stepped up again. He offered a few more wise words and warnings about how to succeed in the school year. It was a short speech and hardly informative if most students possessed a minimal amount of common sense, Mary thought. Before long, the students were dismissed and the prefects began calling to the first years. Mary followed the group of Ravenclaws to a giant staircase. The staircase definitely wasn't a normal staircase, not at all. It was moving!

"This is the Grand Staircase," one of the prefects explained, "You have to pay attention when using it though because the stairs like to change. One minute, you'll be headed towards the second floor for a class and in the blink of an eye you're moving towards a corridor you've never seen before. So just be careful. Come on, then! Step lively. The common room's on the fifth floor."

The door to the Ravenclaw common room was large and looked rather heavy. One of the first years asked why there was no doorknob and only a large brass knocker in the shape of an eagle. The prefects smiled to one another before explaining that the knocker was enchanted to ask a question.

"So the Gryffindors and Slytherins have to give a password, Hufflepuffs just have to know where they're going, but Ravenclaws? We get to test ourselves. Don't be worried when you see a group of people gathered around and trying to figure out the answer. It's a bit of pain if you're in a hurry to grab something though, so just make sure you have everything when you leave in the morning."

The knock was used, the question was answered, and the prefects ushered the first years inside. They were given a quick tour of the common room and directed to dormitories. Mary followed a small group of girls to a room with six beds. Almost immediately, the girls flew to their luggage and claimed a bed for themselves. Mary calmly pulled her belongings out of the pile and towards a bed that was right by the window. No one seemed to object to her choice, so Mary started pulling out her things and putting her clothing in the trunk at the foot of the bed. The other girls giggled and shared stories about their summers while tossing their things into their own trunks.

Just by listening, Mary figured out who was who and where they were going to sleep. Nancy Rimmer's bed was next to Mary's. Then it was Amy Peloski, Jackie Sullivan, and Harriet Wood's beds going around the room and Katherine Hygler's bed on the other side of Mary's. Mary made a mental note of all the girls' names, but otherwise kept herself out of their conversation.

"And _who_ are you," Nancy asked, walking over to Mary.

"Me?" Nancy nodded. "Oh. I'm Mary… Mary Poppins. Nice to meet you."

"_Mary Poppins_," crowed one of the other girls, "What a funny name!"

Mary looked confused, "I'm sorry?"

"_Poppins_," repeated Harriet, "It's like you_ popped in_! Is that it, Mary? Did you pop in?"

"Mary Pop-pop-pop-in," Katherine shrieked happily.

"It _is _a bit funny," Amy said from her trunk.

The girls continued to laugh and regrouped on one side of the room. Every once in a while, one of them would look over at Mary, turn back to the group, and they would all snicker at something obviously hilarious to them. Mary pulled a book a piece of parchment from her trunk and curled up by the window to write a letter and try to ignore her roommates. Eleven year-old girls, it turned out, could be very cruel.

_Mother, _

_I know you and father wanted to hear right away about my sorting. The hat put me into Ravenclaw, which I hope is what you wanted. Hogwarts is huge! It's so much larger than the manor. There really isn't very much I can say seeing as I've only been here for a couple of hours and haven't even gotten my schedule yet. Winona, a girl I met on the train and hopefully a friend, told me that I will find out my classes tomorrow. I'm sorry if this letter gets to you a little late, I'm writing it in my dormitory and I will have to find where they keep the owls before classes begin in the morning. _

_Mary._

* * *

Bert managed to find an open seat at the Hufflepuff table and once the feast began, a bunch of students (both first years and older students) began to introduce themselves.

"'m Ernie McClellan," said a boy to Bert's right.

"Bert Alfred!"

"That's my brother down the table a bit. His name's Henry and he was just sorted today too. You should talk to him once they gather all the first years together."

"Gather us together?"

"Oh right, explanation. The prefects take all the first years and show them how to get to the common rooms. They'll gather you all up after the feast." Ernie pointed down the tabled, "See the two people sitting down there?"

"The boy and the girl?"

"Yeah them. They're the prefects for Hufflepuff. She's Flora Whilton and his name is Sebastian Borden. Both of them are fifth years so they're new prefects. Flora's nice, but Sebastian can be a bit harsh sometimes."

Bert nodded and hoped that he would be able to keep all the names straight. Already he had met a ton of people or been given names and he hadn't been at Hogwarts for more than a few hours! Ernie eventually stopped talking to Bert, turning to his friends and seeing who could drink the most amount of pumpkin juice in the least amount of time. Bert took the opportunity to eat and was able to talk to some of the other kids sitting around him.

After maybe an hour of lighthearted conversation and good food, Professor Dumbledore stood again to give his words of wisdom and then dismissed the students. Flora and Sebastian both stood and started calling for first year Hufflepuffs to follow them. Bert quickly jumped up to follow, spotting Henry McClellan and rushing over to him.

"Hey! Your brother told me to talk to you. I'm Bert."

"I'm Henry. They're gonna take us to the common room, right? Where do you think it is?"

"I don't know. Looks like Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are going upstairs." He took a moment to look for the other house, Slytherin. "Looks like Slytherin is being taken downstairs."

"Hufflepuff this way," Flora called over the eager chatter of the first years. "We're going down to the kitchens!"

Kitchens? Bert shot Henry a confused look and Henry shrugged. Hadn't they just finished a feast?

"Flora don't give them the wrong information."

"Oh sorry Mr. Technical," she said with a roll of her eyes, "We're taking you down to the common room which is _right_ next to the kitchens."

"Don't even think about sneaking out of the common room for a midnight snack, though. The kitchen's locked off to students and you can't even get in there." Sebastian shot a menacing look back to the group of first years.

"Oh and you would know that from previous experience, Borden?" Flora laughed, "Don't let Sebastian freak you out, he knows all this because in our second year, he tried and got doused in vinegar and the common room locked him out."

"You said you wouldn't tell anyone that story," he grumbled.

A few of the first years chuckled as their prefects bickered. Finally, they were lead through a door right next to the kitchen.

"Uhm, I hate to break it to you," a particularly brave first year piped up, "but that's a stack of barrels…not a common room."

Sebastian and Flora shared a look and he winked at her. "To the unsuspecting eye, it's just a stack of barrels. But if you know what you're looking for, it's an entrance."

Flora smiled and explained, "See that barrel two from the bottom and in the middle of the second row?" Bert and the rest of the first years nodded. "You've got to tap the lid of it like you're tapping the name Helga Hufflepuff." She demonstrated and the lid of the barrel popped up to reveal an entryway. "Oh but be careful! If you tap the wrong barrel or the wrong number of times, you'll be doused in vinegar and you won't be able to enter the common room. And as Seb here can vouch for, that sucks."

Sebastian and Flora led the first years through the entrance, gave them a tour of the common room, and then directed the boys and girls to the right dormitories.

"Hey Bert! Hurry up and maybe we can be roommates," Henry called and Bert rushed to catch up. They burst into one of the rooms, it wasn't empty. Four other boys were already unpacking their things into trunks at the end of four-post beds.

"Hey there," Bert said kindly, "S' there room for two more?"

"Depends on who's asking," the boy on the other side of the room said.

"Well I'm Bert Alfred and this is Henry McClellan."

"I'm John Hollowell and you both can take the two beds over there." John pointed to two beds that were close to the door.

"Thanks!" Bert and Henry said at the same time.

John pointed to the three other boys, "That's Jacob Alvaro, Lewis Cathro, and Adam Lowry."

"I'm Bert!"

"Henry!"

They all said their hellos and then finished unpacking. It was going to be a good year.


	4. First Year

**Okay, so this chapter is quite a bit bigger than the others. I didn't mean for it to be that way, this chapter just seemed to keep going. I would have split it up, but I also want to be able to have the next chapter move on to the Second Year of Hogwarts. I've updated this fic a lot this week because it was Spring Break and I've really had nothing better to do. I go back to school tomorrow (from the post-date of this chapter) so updates won't be as frequent. Leave a review after you've read? I do love reviews a lot. **

* * *

Of all the days Bert could have been late to a class, he just _had _to be late to his first day of Herbology. He shook his head as he ran through the grounds, frantically making his way to where he was _sure _the greenhouses were. Of course, the last time he was _sure _he was headed in the right direction, he ended up at the edge of the Forbidden Forest where a group of third years were studying odd-looking creatures. And _of course,_ he was going to be late to the class taught by his head of house. It was just his luck. He hoped that Professor Sprout wouldn't be too upset, he didn't want detention right off the bat.

By the time he found the greenhouses, people had already paired up and started working. Bert shot an apologetic smile at Professor Sprout. She didn't look too upset about his late arrival. Bert spotted Henry towards the back of the greenhouses. He was talking to a girl from their house.

"Oh Mr. Alfred! So nice of you to show up!" Professor Sprout smiled gently. "I'm afraid people have already paired up so I'm going to have to find you a place to work," she said while taking a look around the room. Bert tried his best to find an open station from where he stood, but he wasn't having much luck. "Oh here we are," Sprout said enthusiastically, "Miss Poppins are you the only one at your station?"

A young Ravenclaw girl looked up from what she was doing and nodded slowly, "Yes, Professor."

"Perfect," exclaimed the professor as she clapped her hands together, "Mr. Alfred, you can go set your things down next to Miss Poppins and get to work! Miss Poppins, I want you to explain what we're doing today to Mr. Alfred."

She nodded but looked back to her book. Bert carefully wove through the occupied stations and made his way over to the Ravenclaw so he could get to work. He set his bag down and looked over at her. "Hi. I'm Bert Alfred."

"Mary Poppins," she said without looking up from her book. She let him stand there awkwardly for a minute or two before she actually looked at him. "Oh, I remember you."

"Huh?"

"You asked to sit next to me on the boat."

"Oh right!" He smiled and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "So – uh – what do you want me to do?"

She smiled shyly, "Well actually, Professor Sprout hasn't told us to do too much. She just wants us to be familiar with the layout of the greenhouse and know what tools do what and when you would use them. It's why people have their books out."

"Oh right. Yea that makes sense." He pulled his book out and started matching things that were on the table to their pictures in the book. He finished quickly enough and a quick glance at his partner gave away that she had probably finished a while ago. She was reading ahead, turning the page every few minutes and trying to do so quietly.

"So what do you think of Hogwarts?"

She didn't answer. Bert figured that she was just focused on reading. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Bert looked back at his book, trying to figure out what was so interesting about a book about plants. Once he had looked away, she said, "It's not all that bad." She turned a page but didn't look up, "I mean it's nice here."

He nodded, "It is nice. Do you have a favorite class?"

She thought for a minute, "Transfiguration is good. So are Charms and Defense… I think it's too soon to have a favorite."

He shrugged. Maybe she did have a point. They'd only been going to classes for a week and picking a favorite class based on only a week of experience was probably not an easy choice. "Well I think Defense is going to be the most interesting."

Mary nodded, but didn't try to make the conversation move along. Bert looked around and spotted Henry again. Henry noticed and mouthed, "Who's the girl?"

"Ravenclaw," Bert mouthed back.

"She talking much?" Bert shook his head. "Awkward."

Bert shrugged and Henry went back to chatting with his partner. Bert flipped through his book unenthusiastically and waited for Professor Sprout to say something. Other students began quietly moving items back into their bags for the anticipated end of the class while others slowly began to disregard their books to talk to the people around them. The greenhouse slowly got louder as the class got closer to ending.

"Alright settle down! Settle down, everyone." Professor Sprout made her way back to the front of the greenhouse. "Take a good look at the person working next to you because they're your partner for the rest of the year." A few students grumbled because they didn't know the person sitting next to them as well or because they wanted to work with someone else. "Now, now, I know you all probably aren't too happy with that because I moved a few of you around during the class period, but it will all work out." Some students tried to argue with her, but she quickly informed them that this was final. "You and your partner will work together and get to know each other as the year goes on and that starts today. You are to work with each other to write about the proper use of Herbology equipment and about greenhouse safety. It's due in a week, have a nice day."

Bert shoved his book into his bag and started to walk out of the greenhouse. Henry caught up with him and they started in the direction of the castle.

"Uh Bert? Could you wait a moment?" It was Mary. She quickened her pace to catch up with him and Henry. "The paper."

"Yeah?"

"When do you want to write it? I mean, when would you like to work on it?"

"I don't really have a preference, you know. Name a time and a place and I'll show up."

"Oh okay. Uh… How about Thursday? 5 o'clock in the library? Is- is that alright?"

"Sounds good to me, I'll see you then." Bert turned back to the castle and he and Henry started walking again.

"So who is she," Henry asked. "I haven't seen her around. Which is weird… Hey, didn't we have Defense with Ravenclaw yesterday?"

"Her name's Mary. Yeah we did, maybe we just didn't see her there. Some people just sit quietly and pay attention. Just because she wasn't speaking up, doesn't mean she wasn't there."

"I guess. She's pretty quiet, then?"

"Read the book for most of the period."

"She'll be a fun one to work with. Maybe she'll get tired of waiting for you and write the whole paper herself?"

"I wouldn't want to do that to her. Wouldn't be fair."

"You know what isn't fair: us having to write three different papers for three classes. It's only the first week and I feel like I'm drowning in work."

"It could be worse, Henry."

"Yeah? How?"

"They could all be due tomorrow. Like that Transfiguration one is. Come on, or we'll be late for Potions."

* * *

Thursday came rather quickly and at five o'clock exactly, Bert found himself in the library. It was busier than he expected it to be, to be honest. There were students of all ages and from every house carrying books from shelves to tables and to the front desk to check them out. He looked around to try and find Mary, but he couldn't see her right away.

"Can I help you?" Bert hadn't even noticed the librarian coming up behind him. He jumped and spun to answer.

"I- I'm looking for a friend of mine. She was supposed to meet me here so we could write a paper for Herbology."

"What's her name?"

"Mary Poppins. She's in Ravenclaw, if that helps…"

"Ah yes, Miss Poppins. She tends to disappear when she comes here. I think she found one of the more hard-to-find coves of the library. If you wait up by the front desk, she should come to you."

"Thanks." Bert nodded to the librarian as she hurried away. He walked over to the front desk and waited for Mary to show up. He wasn't waiting long, she found him at the desk only a few minutes after the librarian had left. He smirked, "You're late."

"I was here almost an hour ago. I just had to walk back to the desk from my spot."

"I almost thought you weren't going to show. I had to ask the librarian if she had seen you."

"Her name is Madam Pince. Now come on, let's get this written."

She turned on her heel and began walking quickly through the rows of bookshelves. Not once did she look back to make sure he was still following her, she just expected him to keep up. After a few twists and turns through the library, Bert spoke up. "Hey where are you taking me, anyway?"

"No one else really knows about this spot. It's really off the beaten path." She spun around to face him, forcing him to stop walking. "It's private and I want it to stay that way. You can't tell people about my spot. I don't want anyone… coming to find me."

Bert noticed something almost sad about the way she said that, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. "Okay…?"

"You have to promise that you won't tell people." She raised an eyebrow at him and tapped her foot against the stone floor of the library. This particular part of the library was so quiet that her foot's tapping echoed eerily.

"Alright. I promise."

She nodded and started walking again, this time turning every few moments to make sure he was still following. She made a few more turns before ducking behind a bookcase. "This is it," she said simply. Bert looked around. She was right when she had said it was off the beaten path. The books in this section looked like they hadn't been opened in years. Bert was surprised to find that the chairs and table didn't have an inch of dust on them. There was a decently-sized window not too far away from the table that overlooked the grounds and the Forbidden Forest.

Mary sat down quickly and pulled an open book back towards her. There was a parchment already set out and her ink and quill were just waiting to be picked up. She waited for Bert to sit down, but he seemed far more interested in the view from the window. "If you want this to take hours when it really shouldn't take more than a half an hour, you can stay at the window. But, you know, you could just sit down and then you wouldn't have to stay very long…"

He turned from the window, "Trying to get rid of me?"

"Oh no, I just… You probably have places to be and better things to do than writing a Herbology assignment with me."

"Nah! This should be way more interesting than watching Henry try to do the Charms homework."

She giggled, "Trying to do the Charms homework?"

"He claims that he's already rubbish at the class. I say he just doesn't want to do the work."

Mary shook her head and turned the open Herbology book back to the first chapter. "We should get started."

"You've been reading ahead?"

"I read a lot. Come sit down and we can figure out how to start this."

Bert took a seat next to Mary and listened as she began to dissect the first chapter of the book. They talked to one another and debated the best way to protect hands, eyes, and clothing when dealing with dangerous plants. He let her write things down, her writing was a lot nicer than his, and she let him voice his opinion.

Mary had been right, once they sat down and focused on the paper, it only took them a little longer than thirty minutes. He asked her if there was anything left to do for the assignment and she scanned it quickly before saying that it was finished. With her approval, he gathered his things up and began to leave. He watched for a moment as she placed the finished assignment carefully in her bag and pulled a book from the stack on the table. She started to read again and seemed to be focused so Bert decided it was time to go.

"Thank you," she said quietly without looking up from her book.

"What?"

Mary looked away from her book. "Thank you. For coming, I mean. I heard your friend say the other day that you could probably get away with not showing up. I mean, just… Thanks for actually coming."

"I wouldn't just let you do the work by yourself! If Sprout found out, she'd have m head! Besides, it wouldn't have been fair to you. You don't have to worry about what Henry says. I have my own mind."

He gave her a reassuring smile and then walked around the bookcase. She might be quiet and shy, but she was easier to work with than he had first thought.

* * *

November had just barely begun and already students were eagerly discussing the holidays. With Christmas being a little more than a month away, it was one of the only things on the student's minds. Mary listened to the excited conversations that filled the Great Hall. She mostly sat and listened during breakfast if she decided to visit the Great Hall in the morning. Sometimes she would nibble on a piece of toast of Winona started lecturing her about how she needed to eat breakfast, but more often than not, Mary had her book opened at the table.

She had hoped that her roommates would have stopped poking fun at her after a while, but they had yet to run out of things to laugh about. Mary was beginning to make a habit of going to her dorm after her roommates had gone to sleep and being out of there before they woke up. As bad as that sounded, she was still getting a decent amount of sleep. Plus, Mary knew that if she was extremely tired that she could take a short nap in the library. Bert had kept his promise and not told anyone about her spot in the library. At least, she was sure he had since no one had shown up there uninvited.

"Mary," Winona called from the entry of the Great Hall. She waved wildly and rushed to sit next to the first year. "So my darling bestest friend in the whole school, what does your day look like?" Winona plopped down next to Mary and began pulling various breakfast items onto her plate.

"My schedule for the week says something about _flying_ instruction after lunch. I'm not exactly sure what to make of it."

"_Oh_ that's no big deal! You're just going to learn about flying and how to fly using a broom. All first years take it at the same time and it's actually pretty fun."

"If you say so."

"And since all the first years will be together, that means you'll get to see your cute little Herbology partner." Winona nudged her friend.

"Oh shush. We only work together because he was late on the first day."

"Doesn't mean he isn't cute."

"Maybe to you he is."

"And to you."

"Don't be ridiculous, Winona. He's nice but that's all."

"He's _nice_ and it means a ton to you. Come on Mary, I know how awful people are to you."

"They're not that bad, Winona."

Winona shot her friend a look, "Mary."

"I mean it. They really aren't that bad." Mary could tell that Winona didn't believe her, but her friend didn't try to push the subject any more. After a few minutes of silence, Mary pushed her empty plate aside, closed her book, and gathered her things up. "I'll see you at lunch, Winona?"

"Yup," Winona mumbled through a mouthful of toast. "Later, Mary!"

Mary went though her morning classes without any problems. Her mind kept wandering to flight. She had seen a few older students zooming around on broomsticks. It looked liberating, being able to fly around at top speed. The more she thought about it, the more excited she got. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be able to fly.

She met Winona for lunch and expressed her excitement for the upcoming lesson. Winona shook her head and reminded Mary that just a few hours ago, Mary had been anxious. Mary laughed and explained that maybe it would be fun. Winona couldn't help but agree. Winona was going to try out for the Ravenclaw quidditch team later in the year and absolutely loved to fly.

The two friends parted ways after lunch, Winona headed to the dungeons for Potions, while Mary made her way outdoors. She found the field easily enough and found a place to stand that was a bit out of the way. A few other students had decided to be early as well and most of them spotted Mary the second she arrived. It was just Mary's luck that most of them were from her house.

"You actually decided to show up, Poppins?" Mary sighed as Harriet made her way over to where Mary stood.

"Of course she came," added Jackie, "it was on the schedule and Mary's never missed a class that's on the schedule."

"Neither have you," Mary said quietly, "We've only had classes for a month. I'd be worried if you were already ditching classes."

"She probably spent the lunch hour cooped up in the library to read up on how to fly. She's got to be the best at everything," crowed Jackson Gilligan. He was from Slytherin house and one of Harriet's closer friends.

"I actually spent lunch with my friend."

"Who," spat a Gryffindor whose name escaped Mary, "_Winona Zappa_?"

Mary clenched her jaw shut tightly. She knew that if she kept talking that they would only keep poking fun at her. Not that being silent did much, but they would eventually get tired of trying to talk to her and go laugh somewhere that wasn't nearby. Mary was so frustrated that people constantly thought she was always trying to be the best. She wasn't _trying_ to best anyone, she tested well naturally and knew what her parents expected of her.

Eventually, the rest of the first years showed up with the flying instructor not far behind them. The instructor was an older woman with short, spiky grey hair that was almost white. She let the first years gabber excitedly for a few minutes before blowing into whistle that quickly silenced all conversations.

"Good afternoon. I am Madam Hooch." The witch snapped and dozens of brooms appeared on the field. With a smirk, she said, "Let's get started shall we?" She directed the students towards the brooms. "Approach a broom on the left-hand side. Don't touch them, just stand next to one. Wait for everyone to be near a broom and then wait for the next instruction. Go."

Students rushed for the brooms. It didn't take very long for everyone to stand next to a broom and they all looked to Madam Hooch for the next direction. "Good. Now hold your right hand over the broom and when you're ready, say 'Up.' It's important to use the right tone. Too nice and your broom will think it can best you, too firm and it won't want to listen. You must be commanding and polite at the same time."

While she gave this instruction, shouts of the word 'up' in various tones and volumes began to echo among the students. A few brooms began to rise and many students beamed with pride.

"Having problems, Poppins?" Harriet was grinning smugly from where she stood, her broom already grasped firmly in her hand. Mary did her best to ignore her.

"Up," Mary said, trying to get her broom to shoot up to her hand. The infuriating object remained inanimate on the grass, however, and refused to move. "Up," she commanded again. She must have said 'up' thirty different times before it reluctantly hovered into her hand. She was the last person to have a broom in hand. Maybe this wasn't going to go as well as she hoped.

The next step was to hover over the ground and then touch back down. Mary hovered for maybe three seconds before her broom quivered and forced her back to the ground. Mary tried again, but reached the same result.

By the time Madam Hooch had the first years all hovering a few feet off the ground, Mary had barely gotten the hang of things. She wasn't getting along with her broom terribly well and it kept forcing her to head back to solid ground after a few seconds. After trying again and again, Mary was finally able to hover where everyone else was. And they had been waiting for her.

Madam Hooch was now in the air with everyone and motioned that they all follow her. She led the class in a decent-sized circle at a slow speed. Mary kept up for a bit, before she had to land again. She tried again, again, and then again, but each time she reached the same result. Harriet zoomed around and didn't try to hide her snickers directed at Mary.

"Grounded, Poppins? Can't quite get the hang of flying, can you?" Harriet landed and walked over to Mary. Her friends laughed and a few other students snickered as they landed as well. "And here I thought you were the best at everything."

"That'll be all for today," Madam Hooch said as she landed firmly on the grass. We'll meet up again tomorrow and we'll go over how not to fly like an imbecile." She walked off and left the students to their own devices.

"Are you going to show up again tomorrow, Poppins," jeered the boy from Gryffindor.

"If she does, we'll have to be careful. She might knock us all out of the sky," Jackson added.

"No," Jackie added, "I doubt she'd even be in the air for more than a few seconds. Sometimes you're born with a natural _lack_ of talent for things."

Mary couldn't understand why these people were picking on her specifically, she'd never done anything to them. She was happy that there weren't any classes scheduled for the rest of the afternoon, though. She would be able to hide away in the library for the rest of the day. She knew that she would have to face the Great Hall for dinner or Winona would worry and telling Winona about the first flying instruction was something that Mary would rather not do.

"So how was it?" Winona asked cheerfully when dinnertime came around.

"I was absolutely terrible. I couldn't stay in the air for more than a few seconds."

"You couldn't have been that bad."

Someone down the table murmured, "Oh she was," but Winona pretended not to have heard.

"Maybe if you practice a bit?"

"I don't think it will do me much good… I think I like the idea of flying, but I don't think flying with a broom is the best option for me."

"Are there even other kinds of flying out there?"

"Maybe, I'd just have to figure it out. But brooms obviously aren't going to be my number one mode of transportation."

"Don't worry, Mary. I'll fly you around."

"Thanks, but for now I think I'll keep both feet on the ground."

"Are you going to go to the other lessons?"

"I think I'll just spend that hour in the library. I'd rather not embarrass myself any more than I have."


End file.
